Scolytus koenigi Schevyrew, 1890 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): new bark beetle for the Czech Republic and notes on its biology

Abstract

In November 2013, Scolytus koenigi Schevyrew, 1890 was recorded for the first time in the territory of the Czech Republic (Southern Moravia, at two localities near the village of Lednice). This finding represents the northernmost occurrence of this species in Central Europe. Because the knowledge of the S. koenigi bionomy is very limited, the characteristics of 52 galleries on 10 different host tree fragments were studied. The species was found to develop on dead or dying branches and thin trunks of maples Acer campestre L. and Acer platanoides L. with diameters of 312 cm. All of the galleries comprised a 1.6-2.9 mm wide and 8-67 mm long single egg gallery oriented parallelly to the wood grain, with 18108 larval galleries emerging almost symmetrically on both sides of the egg gallery.